Finding Hope
by Sovereign64
Summary: Shirley is trying to move on with her mother's death, but she can't. But that's until she met Lelouch. LelouchXShirley COMPLETE!
1. A New School

DW: Hi guys, sorry I haven't been able to write Maid for Hire. I had a bit of writer's block with that one. Sorry. But fortunately, I thought up with a new LelouchXShirley story that I hope you all enjoy. I was planning to write this after I'm done with Maid for Hire but instead I felt I need to post this story now. I hope you all enjoy!

_**Finding Hope**_

_**Chapter 1: A New School**_

"Shirley, get up!" I heard from outside my bedroom door.

Joseph, my Father was yelling at me to wake up for my first day of school. However I had already been awake for several hours thinking, thinking about my mom, Jenny.

She had died of cancer last year on Valentine's Day. She had been a very beautiful woman with the sweetest temper to match. Many people had wondered why in the world she would marry someone like Joseph. I think it was because his personality was just the opposite of hers. I think that was the reason she married him.

My Dad works as a bodyguard for a well-known company. He always seemed inpatient and angry towards people, and many people are intimidated by his presence. However the people that actually know him know that he is a great person.

My Mother was very fond of gardening and drawing, which is the main reason that I draw so much myself. I always tried to make her happy with my pictures.

Most people wouldn't be able to tell that Joseph was my father if it wasn't for my orange hair, for I have my Mother's beautiful figure and my Father's orange hair.

We had lived in Britannia for most of my life. We recently moved to Japan for Dad's job, and today's the day I had to start in a completely new school.

"Shirley, you're gonna be late!" Joseph shouted even louder this time.

"All right Dad, I'm up!" I shouted back at him.

I rose slowly from the comfort of my bed and began to get ready. I put on my new school uniform. I had readied everything the night before, so it didn't take me long before I was ready to go.

I walked outside and over to Dad's motorcycle. I hopped on and waited for him. Dad was very fond of his motorcycle. We used to have a car, but since mom died we really didn't use it, so we sold it when we sold our old house. It doesn't bother me at all to ride on a motorcycle, but I'm worried about what other people might think about it.

Dad got on after me and started it. I love the way the wind blows through my hair when I ride on Dad's motorcycle, and for some reason it never messed my hair up at all. Dad was a very good driver; he's never got hurt even though he has been in some pretty bad situations and this was one of the reason his company hired him.

He eventually pulled into the school driveway.

"Do you want me to go with you?" He asked.

I knew that what he was asking was very hard for him to do; he was a very proud man after all. I shook my head no and hopped off of the motorcycle. I watched him leave before turning and walking through the front doors of my new school. No sooner had I done so than I bumped into someone.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, I didn't see anybody there!" I quickly said, putting out my hand to help that person up.

I saw that he was a jet black haired boy around my age, and that he was really good looking! He took my hand and got up. I quickly let go of his hand, blushing brightly.

"Umm, bye." I stammered and turned to leave. I felt his hand grab my arm. I'm a very shy person and it's even worse when it comes to guys.

"Wait, you're new around here aren't you?" He asked curiously.

"Yeah." I replied simply. I decided to go ahead and ask him for some help.

"Umm…, do you know where I can get my schedule and stuff? I'm really lost." I said softly.

"I can help you there." He replied happily. "By the way, my name's Lelouch. And yours is?"

"It's Shirley." I replied.

"OK Shirley, follow me." He said and we started walking down the hallway.

"Anyway, where are you from?" Lelouch asked curiously.

"My Dad and I just moved here from Britannia for his job about a week ago." I answered.

It felt so easy to talk to this guy, and I just met him a few minutes ago. He doesn't make me feel shy at all.

"Oh I see, what about your Mom, is she here too?" He questioned.

His question stopped me dead in my tracks. Mom, how could I almost forget about her? I, I couldn't talk to him about this. I had to get away from here, so I did the only thing I could think of, I ran.

"Shirley, wait! Where are you going?" He shouted at me as I ran.

I couldn't answer him. All my nightmares were coming back to me. I stopped running as soon as he was out of sight. I sat down on a nearby bench and started crying until I saw a red headed girl walking up to me. I quickly made myself stop crying and wiped my tears away.

"Hi, you seem lost." She said curiously. "Are you new here?" She asked with a huge smile on her face.

"Yeah, can you help me?" I asked hopefully. I figured I might as well as ask her since I couldn't talk to Lelouch and she seemed friendly enough.

"Sure, my name's Kallen by the way." She said happily.

"Mine's Shirley." I replied.

"OK, come on. Let's go." Kallen said with a smile. I followed her down the same hallway that Lelouch and I went down earlier.

I was worried that I might see him along the way but thankfully I didn't. The hallway was completely filled with lockers.

"The freshman lockers are by the office way down there." She said as she pointed down the hallway.

We went into the office and got my schedule and my locker number. Kallen looked at my schedule as soon as we were out of the office.

"Let's see, you have Biology with Lelouch, Suzaku, Euphemia and…," Kallen said but I cut her off.

"Lelouch?" I asked, my voice almost breaking as I said his name.

"Yeah, do you know him?" Kallen asked curiously.

"No, not really." I replied quietly.

"Well, Lelouch is a really nice guy." Kallen said smiling.

"What about the other people you mentioned?" I asked curiously.

"Oh, Suzaku can be mean, but he is actually just really protective. Euphemia is really nice and really smart. Euphemia, Suzaku, Lelouch, Gino, and I all hang out together. We've been friends for a long time. Do you wanna eat with us at lunch?" Kallen asked hopefully.

"Sure, I'd like that" I replied happily.

"Yay, you can be part of our group too!" Kallen squealed happily as well.

Suddenly a bell started to ring.

"Oh, that's the warning bell. I'll show you where your class is and I'll meet you there afterwards to show you where the rest of the classes are, OK?" Kallen said as we hurried down the hallway.

"Alright." I replied as I followed the redheaded girl down the hallway.

I followed her until she stopped at room 120.

"This is your first class, see you after class!" Kallen said as she walked to her class.

"Bye!" I said before turning and walking into the classroom. At least I'm gonna make some friends, now I just have to deal with Lelouch.

**END OF CHAPTER**


	2. New Friends

_**Chapter 2: New Friends**_

I quietly walked into the classroom fearing the worst.

Much to my relief, Lelouch wasn't there yet. So I sat down at one of the unoccupied desks and took out my sketchpad. Drawing always helps me calm down. I decided to draw our old house in Britannia. It was a small house but it was perfect for me, I miss it so much. I was almost done with my sketch when I felt someone tap me on the shoulder.

"Ahhh!" I yelped inn a startled voice.

I had been so busy drawing that I didn't realize that my fellow classmates were seated in the room now and the tardy bell had already rung. I turned around to see who tapped me and almost screamed again, it was Lelouch.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you!" He said apologetically. "Are you okay?" He adds curiously.

I nodded my head yes, indicating that I was OK.

"I'm so sorry about earlier." He began. "I shouldn't have asked you such a personal question since I didn't know you that well, can we start over?" He asked hopefully. His eyes seemed to plead for forgiveness. Those beautiful purple eyes…, a blush started to creep back onto my face.

"S-sure…" I replied softly.

"Hey Lelouch, who's your new friend?" A pink-haired girl sitting to the side of me suddenly asked.

She really startled us, causing me to blush even more.

"Euphy!"

I looked around to see a brown haired boy sitting beside Lelouch; he was looking at Euphemia sternly. "You shouldn't bug people that don't even know you." He lectured her.

"You know I can't help it!" She replied while laughing at him.

"Well, if you have to know, this is my new friend Shirley. We met in the hallway earlier." Lelouch informed them.

I was grateful that he didn't say anything about my outburst.

"Oh really?" She giggled. "Anyway, my name is Euphemia and this is Suzaku." She said pointing the boy behind her. "It's nice to meet you."

"It's nice to meet you too." I replied shyly.

Before we could talk anymore, the teacher starting talking about the school year and what the class will be like. He continued his boring lecture until the bell rang. When it did, I quickly made my way out of the room to find Kallen.

"Hey Shirley." a voice behind me said.

I turned around to see Lelouch, and for some reason he looked nervous.

"Yes Lelouch?" I replied back, felling my cheeks start to burn as I blushed. I quickly noticed that he was also blushing.

"I'll get to see you again right?" He asked while staring at the floor.

"Of course Lelouch, Kallen already said I could hang out with you guys." I replied back.

A look of relief immediately filled Lelouch's face.

"That's good, well I guess I'll see you later then." He said happily.

"Bye Lelouch." I said and watched him as he left down the hall.

I looked back and saw Kallen walking up to me. "Hi Kallen!" I shouted to her.

"Hi Shirley, let me see your schedule so I can help you get to your next class." She began. "Cool, you have computers with me in Room 119, its right across from here." She explained.

I followed her into the classroom; there were computers all along the wall as well as on the desks. We chose two desks near the door and sat down. Once we were settled, Kallen looked at my schedule again.

"I don't think anybody else has history 3rd hour, or art 4th hour, so you'll be on your own." She said. "But don't worry, I'll show you where they are since I have Choir 4th hour and the Choir room is right beside the art room." Kallen said, pausing for a moment to look at my schedule. "Hmm…, everybody has P.E. 5th hour and you'll have English with Lelouch and Gino. Last hour you have Algebra with Gino and me." She added, handing me the schedule back.

"Wow, that's a lot to remember." I said rubbing my forehead jokingly.

"Don't worry, you'll get into the gist of it and then it will be easy." Kallen replied.

"I hope so." I added.

"So, have you meet Suzaku and Euphemia yet?" Kallen questioned curiously.

"Yeah, Lelouch introduced me to them." I started to blush again when I thought about what Lelouch said to me before he left. I looked up to see Kallen laughing. "What?" I asked intently.

"You like Lelouch, don't you?" She said slyly.

"What?" I said, trying hard not to yell. It's a good thing I didn't or else I would probably have gotten some attention. However I couldn't stop from blushing like a tomato.

"Yep, you do like Lelouch." Kallen said cheerily. "But don't worry, I'm not gonna tell him. I have a crush on Gino, so don't be embarrassed about it." She added with a smile.

I was really glad she didn't make a big deal about it. Soon the bell rang again and Kallen showed me where my next class was. "See you after class!" she shouted as she left.

"Bye Kallen." I said and quietly slipped into the classroom, sitting down at a desk in the corner of the room. I didn't pay attention to the teacher at all. I was too busy thinking about my new friends. I think Kallen and I are gonna be really good friends. Euphemia seems nice too, and Suzaku will probably warm up to me eventually. Then there's Lelouch. I've only known him for one day and already I like him, and well why shouldn't I? He's really good looking and really nice too. I'm feeling very lucky to have made so many friends on my first day. Mom would be proud of me.

"Excuse me, what's your name?" someone behind me asked.

"Huh?" I said bluntly.

I was really caught off guard by this since I was thinking about my new friends and not paying attention. So I hadn't noticed that someone came in late and was sitting behind me. I turned around to find a boy that looked about 16 or 17.

"What's your name?" He asked again, sounding a bit annoyed that I hadn't answered the first time. He didn't look very nice at all, but I tried to be friendly.

"My name's Shirley." I replied back. "And yours is?"

"The name's Luciano Bradley." He said arrogantly while flexing his muscles.

I really don't like guys like that. They think that they are all big and bad and that every girl wants to go out with them. It makes me sick.

I tried to ignore him and go back to thinking, but he wouldn't leave me alone. He kept on flirting and flirting, it was driving me crazy. I was so happy when the bell finally rang, and I ran as quickly as I could to find Kallen. Unfortunately, I wasn't quick enough.

"So Shirley, do you wanna go out with me?" He asked in a presumptuous voice.

I was really stunned by this! Nobody had asked me out before, and this was the first time I met him. I was scared to say no, but I didn't want to go out with him since I really didn't like him at all. Luckily for me before I could reply, Kallen came to my rescue.

"I gotta go; my friend is waiting for me." I replied and ran over to where Kallen was standing. Thank goodness Kallen was there!

"Hi Shirley, are you ready to go?" She called out cheerfully to me.

I smiled back to her and we headed over to the Fine Arts Building. I decided not to tell her what happened just yet, I will in time though. I made a mental note to tell her at lunch.

Once we got there, we went our separate ways; I went into the art room and Kallen headed to the Choir room.

The art teacher, Mr. King, seemed really nice.

"Since this is your first day, I'll let you draw anything you want. Please turn it in when you're done." He said.

I decided to go ahead and finish the drawing of my old house since I was almost done anyway. It took me about five minutes to finish it, I walked up to Mr. King's desk and turned it in.

He picked up my drawing and looked at it curiously. "Wow, what's your name?" He asked.

"Shirley." I replied.

"This sketch is really great. I think that you have a lot of potential." He began. "It will great to have you in my class this year Shirley." He said as he looked at my drawing.

The praise caused me to blush brightly. When the bell rang I walked out and found Kallen outside waiting for me.

"Let's go to lunch!" she said cheerfully.

I think that this will be a great year.

**END OF CHAPTER**


	3. Gym

_**Chapter 3: Gym**_

Kallen and I walked down to the cafeteria and got our food, even though I wasn't that hungry at all. I never had much of an appetite, and Dad used to always complain that Mom and I never ate enough. I guess that's why we both were so slender. Mom was so tiny compared to Dad…

"Shirley, you really need to eat." Kallen said.

I laughed at her suggestion, she sounded just like Dad talking to my mom.

"What's so funny?" Kallen asked curiously.

"You sound just like my Dad…" I replied back to her.

"Really, is that a good thing?" Kallen replied sounding a bit confused.

Her reply made me laugh again.

"Yes Kallen, that's a good thing. It's the only reason I'm not just skin and bones!" I told her and we both laughed.

"I told everybody that we were going to meet in the cafeteria for lunch. I wonder where they are…" Kallen said as she looked around.

As soon as she said that we saw them enter the cafeteria and walk toward our table.

"Where were you guys?" Kallen demanded.

"We stopped by our lockers before we came and Suzaku had to go back to one of his classes to get a book he forgot." Euphemia informed Kallen and me, and then she turned to Suzaku. "When will you ever learn?"

"I'll learn when you start taking normal classes like us!" He mouthed back to her, "If you had Algebra like the rest of us instead of Geometry, I might consider remembering my stuff because you would remind me!" He added dramatically.

"You're impossible!" She muttered back and started blushing.

We all laughed at her embarrassment. I took a look around and saw someone that I didn't know yet. He looked our age and he had blonde spiky hair with green eyes.

"Oh, I almost forgot. Shirley, this is Gino. Gino, this is Shirley. She's new to our school." Kallen said as she introduced us.

"This is the girl you were talking about, right Lelouch?" Gino asked him.

Lelouch froze and turned red.

"Y…, yeah…" He mumbled softly.

"Well it's nice to meet you Shirley." Gino said politely. Then he smiled really cheesy which is actually kinda cute for him. I can see why Kallen likes him.

"Yeah, it's nice to meet you too." I replied back shyly.

I don't understand why I'm so shy around new people, even if they are really nice. Soon everyone had their food and was eating. Since I was already done, I decided to start drawing something while I was waiting so I pulled out my sketch pad and begin to draw.

"Hmm… I guess you like to draw…" Gino remarked after swallowing his food.

"Yeah…" I replied shyly.

"Aren't you going to eat?" Gino asked curiously.

"I already ate."

"She's lying. She had like two bites and that doesn't count as a meal." Kallen interrupted us.

I started to blush from embarrassment and felt shy once again. Luckily, the bell ran, saving me from having to answer back. We all headed to the gym and separated to go to our locker rooms to get ready. I changed into a t-shirt and black shorts. I watched as Kallen braided Euphemia's hair as I pulled my orange hair into a ponytail.

"Aren't you guys done yet?" I asked impatiently.

"Almost… okay, we're done." Kallen replied as she finished braiding Euphemia's hair.

After that we went to the main gym and found Lelouch, Gino and Suzaku waiting for us. I smiled as I saw Lelouch, but quickly stopped when I saw Luciano walking towards me. Lelouch saw him too and glared at him.

"So… are you gonna answer me now?" He asked loud enough for everyone to hear.

"Answer what?" I replied quietly, trying to act like I had no clue about what he was talking about.

"Will you go out with me?" He asked in a booming voice.

All of a sudden, the whole gym was quiet, even the coach was listening now. Lelouch looked even madder than before.

"I don't really know you that well…" I muttered softly.

"Come on, I know you want me." He boasted arrogantly.

I didn't know how to tell him no. I was scared that he would do something to me if I rejected him.

"I…"

"Leave her alone Luciano! She doesn't want you!" Someone shouted from behind me.

I turned around to see Lelouch and he looked really mad.

"Lelouch…" I breathed out quietly.

I was really worried about what Luciano would do to him now.

"Humph… she wants you? I doubt it." He retorted before turning to me. "I talk to you about this later Shirley." He said as he walked away.

"Thank you Lelouch…"

"You're we…, welcome Shirley…" He stuttered.

The coach finally decided it was time to start and we spent the rest of the period running. Finally the coach blew the whistle signaling the end of class. We went to the locker rooms and got dressed. After I was done I headed to English with Lelouch and Gino. Lelouch seemed really distant since his outburst, but Gino was really talkative.

"Have you known Luciano for a while?" He asked me curiously.

"No, we just met today during history. He asked me out after class, but I didn't answer him." I explained.

"It's a good thing Lelouch was there; Luciano is bad news, Shirley." Gino cautioned.

"Yeah…" then I looked at Lelouch. "Why did you do that anyway?"

"Didn't you want me to?" Lelouch asked, looking just a little bit hurt.

"Of course I wanted you to! You really saved me back there! But why did you?" I asked again.

"The bell's about to ring; we have to hurry." He remarked, ignoring my question.

I let the question go for now though and hurried to English. We barely got there on time and chose our seats. Lelouch was sitting in front of me and Gino was behind me. Halfway through class, Gino passed me a note.

_I don't think it would be a good idea to ask Lelouch about that just now. He'll probably tell you later, but now isn't a good time._

_Gino_

I was really surprised by his note, but I turned around and smiled at Gino to let him know that I understood. English went by quickly after that and so did Algebra. When the last bell rang, I went outside to wait for my Dad.

While I was waiting, I saw Lelouch and Suzaku riding their skateboards. Lelouch was really good at it. They saw me waiting, and began walking towards me. Just at that moment my Dad pulled up on his motorcycle. When they saw Dad, their mouths dropped and they just stared at him. I laughed as I got on behind my Dad.

"Did school go ok?" He asked.

"Yeah Dad, school was ok." I replied back as we headed home.

**END OF CHAPTER**


	4. Meeting the Parent

_**Chapter 4: Meeting the Parent**_

When we got home, I made dinner, and went up to my room right after I was done. I got on my computer and e-mailed one of my old friends, Nina.

_Hey Nina,_

_What's up? Anything interesting going on since I left? I actually making some new friends here and they're really nice. So far, everything has been fine. Tell everybody there I said hi! _

_Shirley_

"Shirley, come down here." My father shouted from the kitchen.

"I'm coming!" I shouted back as I turned off my computer. I ran into the kitchen to see dad cleaning the dishes from dinner.

"What did you want?"

"Tell me about your day." He said like it was the simplest thing in the world, but I knew better.

"Umm… it was ok. I made some new friends and classes seem easy enough."

"What are your friends' names?"

"Oh, well, there's Kallen, Euphemia, Suzaku, Gino and Lelouch." I replied, trying not to make a big deal out of the fact that I had guy friends, but my dad didn't buy that.

"You have guy friends?" He asked with a raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah…" I answered. I was started to nervous, so I started to stare at the dishes he was washing.

"Are any of them treating you wrong?" He asked in a voice like he was starting to get protective.

"No dad, not my friends, but…" I began but stopped, deciding that it would be not a good idea to tell him about Luciano. But, I should be open with him I guess…

"There was the one guy I met today and he tried to force me to go out with him…"

"What?" He almost screamed.

"Its ok dad, Lelouch told him off for me."

"Hmm… do you think I could meet them sometime?"

"Yeah dad…"

"Yeah…" The conversation was started to become pointless. Even though I love my dad, he's really hard to talk to sometimes…

"It's getting late Shirley. You should get to bed."

"Ok dad, good night…"

"Night…"

I started to walk toward my room. Once I was out of the kitchen, I heard dad mutter, "I'm trying Jenny, I'm trying…"

That explained why he was asking me about my day… He was trying to fill in for mom… I went to bed and woke up early the next day. This time I didn't have to have dad come in there and wake me up. I took a quick shower and got everything for school. It wasn't much since I didn't have homework on my first day. Dad wanted to leave early for some reason. He said that he had something he needed to take care of, so I got to school really early. When we got there, I saw Lelouch waiting on the steps.

"Hi Lelouch!" I shouted to him as I got of the motorcycle.

He waved back, but stopped when he saw my dad.

"Shirley, is that Lelouch?" My dad asked.

I nodded and motioned for Lelouch to come here. He hesitated at first, but eventually he walked over to us.

"Dad, this is Lelouch, Lelouch this is my dad, Joseph."

"It's nice to meet you Lelouch." My dad said politely.

He usually wasn't this polite, but I guess he was trying to be less intimidating to Lelouch. "Can I talk to you for a moment alone?"

"Su-sure…" Lelouch stuttered.

He looked really scared as they went to the side of the school so they could talk. They left me standing there waiting. I waited until the warning bell rang. Lelouch walked up to me and dad went to the motorcycle.

"Have a good day, Shirley." He said as he left.

"So… what did he want?" I asked once my dad left.

Lelouch turned away and stared at his shoes nervously. "Umm… well… come on, we're gonna be late for Biology."

We went to our lockers and got our stuff. We practically ran to the classroom so we wouldn't be late. It rang as soon as well were in our seats.

"Where were you two?" Euphemia asked.

"We were outside." I replied.

Euphemia eyed me oddly and I started to blush once I realized how suspicious that sounded. I blushed even more at what she probably thought we were doing. "My dad wanted to talk to him."

"What about?"

"I don't know… Lelouch wouldn't tell me…"

"Oh well, you can ask later."

"Yeah…"

When Biology ended, I headed towards computers and on the way I saw Lelouch, he had a very happy look on his face. However, before I could talk to him he started walking the other way. I signed and went into the computer room to find Kallen.

"Hey Shirley, did you hear about the fight?" she asked.

"What fight?"

"Luciano and another guy named Mao got into a fight and they both expelled for a week."

"Really? That means I don't have to worry about him for a whole week." I replied. That just made my day.

"Come on Kallen, let's get this assignment done."

We quickly finished the assignment the teacher had given us which gave us a lot of time to talk. History was so much better and I even drew a great picture in art. I guess my mood was contagious, because everyone was in a great mood during lunch and I actually ate more than usual. After I was done, I figured that now would be a good time to talk to Lelouch. So I pulled him away from the group.

"Will you tell me what my dad asked you now?"

"I don't know if I should…"

"I don't like it when people keep secrets from me, Lelouch."

"Okay, okay I'll tell you." He replied and told me that my dad had asked him to look out for you since he wasn't around to do it. "I have to make sure nothing happens to you."

"Was that all?" I asked, causing him to blush and remain silent for a moment.

"Ye-yeah…"

"So you'll look out for me?"

"Of course I will Shirley; I'm not going to go back on my word."

"Thank you Lelouch." I said and gave him a hug. I don't know why I did, but I didn't care. I pulled away and took his hand. "Come on; let's get to class on time for once."

He nodded, but his whole face was completely red. I wasn't embarrassed though… It just felt so right…

**END OF CHAPTER**


	5. Faint Memories

_**Chapter 5: Faint Memories**_

I despise P.E. now. I don't think the coach cared that we were dying of thirst and exhaustion, because he kept us running and running. I was so weak when the bell finally rang. When I was heading to English with Gino and Lelouch, I could barely walk. I hardly ever spent any time outside since mom died and now I was feeling the effects of that.

"Wow, I didn't know that our coach was that bad… I about died!" Gino complained.

"Yeah…" I replied weakly. I was starting to feel really light-headed as we continued walking. I stopped for a second and everything turned black.

* * *

"Shirley, Shirley wake up!" I heard a familiar voice say.

"Huh?" I muttered. Everything was still so black and my head really hurt. My eyesight was really foggy.

"Hey, you're awake!" I was started to gain focus. I looked around and was able to make out Lelouch. I looked some more and I think I saw Gino.

"Wha-What happened?" I asked.

"You fainted…" Lelouch replied slowly.

"Yeah, we were on our way to English and you blacked out on us. Lelouch carried you to the nurse's office." Gino confirmed.

"I'm so sorry…"

"Nah, it's ok. It's not your fault. Besides, I was just doing what your dad told me to do… You weren't heavy at all." Lelouch said sheepishly.

"You got us out of English anyway!" Gino joked.

"Is English over?"

"Yeah, what class do you have now? I'll help you get there." Lelouch asked.

"It's ok Lelouch. I have Algebra with Gino. You don't have to worry about me. Kallen's probably wondering where we are." Lelouch looked disappointed.

"Oh, ok. See you guys after school."

"Bye." I replied as Gino and I walked towards Algebra.

"You really scared Lelouch back there…" he said.

"I'm sorry… I didn't know I was so weak…"

"Don't you ever get out?"

"I hardly ever spend any time outside…"

"Well, maybe you should start now."

"I guess…" The real reason I never went outside was because every time I did after mom died, I was reminded of her. I saw all the plants and flowers that she cared for and it was unbearable to look outside. So I decided to just stay inside and draw… Dad never complained about it either, so I didn't think much about it.

"We're here." Gino announced as he opened the door. I nodded and went to sit behind Kallen as I usually do. Gino went to teacher to tell her why we were late.

"What happened to you? Someone told me that you fainted!" Kallen exclaimed.

"I did… I'm ok now though." I replied quietly.

"What about you, Gino?" she asked him as he walked to his desk next to mine.

"Lelouch and I were helping her since we were there when she fainted." He trailed off and started to blush noticeably and stuttered, "It was no big deal…" he turned away from Kallen and wouldn't look at her.

"What's wrong Gino?" I asked him quietly so Kallen wouldn't hear me.

"Ask Lelouch…" then he turned away from me and did his Algebra homework. I could hardly wait for class to be over. It seemed like two hours till the bell finally rang and I hurried outside to find Lelouch. When I found him, he had a really worried look on his face and he was staring into space.

"What's up?" I asked him. He looked at me and finally realized I was there and he jumped backwards.

"Whoa! Sorry! I didn't see you there. You scared me!" he replied hastily.

"It's ok. So is something wrong?"

"N-no… what makes you think that?"

"Well, you were really deep in thought and had a worried look on your face. And Gino looked like something was wrong and he told me to ask you." Then he muttered something I couldn't really hear that well but it sounded like _I'm gonna kill Gino…_

"Umm… well, you see it's… umm…" he stuttered and then he stopped and smirked at me. "Gino's has a problem right now."

"What is it?"

"It's about Kallen…"

"What about her?"

"He likes her… he has liked her for a long time and won't tell her."

"Aw… that's really sweet… Don't worry, I won't tell her. I would want a guy that likes me to tell me too." I smiled.

"Yeah…" he seemed kinda zoned out for a while, but then he looked at me. "Shirley, can I tell you something?"

"Sure Lelouch. You can always talk to me about stuff." I said. Lelouch looked away again and was really deep in thought. While was thinking my dad pulled up.

"Shirley, I-I really-"

"Sorry Lelouch, I have to go! See you tomorrow!" I shouted as I ran to the my dad.

"Yeah… see ya…" I heard him say as my dad and I began towards home.

**END OF CHAPTER**


	6. Matchmaking

_**Chapter 6**_

That night, my mind kept on wondering what it was that Lelouch wanted to say to me. In the back of my mind, I thought he was going to say, "I love Shirley!" but that is just wishful thinking… It was probably just something about Gino or Kallen. I wanted to ask him about it, but I figured it was in the past so I should just forget about it. When February finally came, dad began to pick me up later and later. I usually had to wait for about an hour longer now waiting for him, but it didn't bother me that much. Since Lelouch just had to skateboard home, he could stay with me as long as he wanted to talk to me. I didn't want these talks with Lelouch to end, so I never asked dad about it. We would usually just talk about school and life and just regular stuff, but sometimes we would talk about Gino and Kallen. Valentine's Day was just around the corner since it was February and Lelouch and I tried to figure out a plan to get them two together. It was lots of fun, but afterwards I always felt sad thinking that it will never happen to me. I'm destined to be alone. Valentine's Day was never a very good holiday for me. I never got anything from a guy and even worse that's the day mom died. Soon it will be exactly one year since she died. I wasn't looking forward to it this year at all. At least I won't have to worry about Luciano. Ever since he came back, he's left me alone for the most part. The only problem is that he going after Euphemia now. He's just going from girl to girl like some stupid player. I'm really glad that Lelouch stepped in and told him no for me. I owe so much to Lelouch… He made me happy again… but there are two things I wanted to know about him. One, I wanted to know what he was going to say to before I left. Two, I wanted to know why he stood up for me against Luciano… Maybe I'll get to find out soon… Maybe this year will be different than the rest…

"So do you think it will work?" I asked Lelouch after I told him an idea for Gino and Kallen.

"I don't know… It might, but we'll see if we can think of anything better." He replied.

"I guess you're right…"

"Hey Shirley?"

"Yeah Lelouch?"

"Remember the first day we met?"

"That was only a month ago Lelouch!"

"I know, but it seems like it's been so much longer than that…"

"Yeah you're right…"

"Well, can you tell me why you ran off when I asked about your mom?" I didn't expect him to ask that, but I figured that it would be ok to talk to him about it now…

"Yeah… I was still really sad about my mom dying last year…"

"Your mom died last year?"

"Yeah…"

"I'm really sorry I asked you about it when we didn't really know each other very well…"

"It's ok Lelouch… It wasn't your fault… anyway I have a question for you now.

"What is it?"

"Why did you step in for me when Luciano was trying to get me to go out with him?" he looked at me in surprise, but then he thought about it.

"I had two reasons."

"And they are?"

"I wanted to protect you because you seemed not to like the idea I going out with him."

"You got that right! I feel sorry for Euphy though…"

"You shouldn't be too worried about her. She has Suzaku remember?"

"Yeah…" Every time that Luciano tried to do anything to Euphy, Suzaku would always get into a fight was him over it. It made me feel a little bit better about the situation knowing that Euphy had someone to protect her like I did. "What's the other thing?"

"Umm… well, it's a long story, but basically I've seen him take advantage of a lot of girls. I didn't wanna see that happen to you."

"Aww… thanks Lelouch. I'm just glad you were there." I hugged him while blushing a little bit. Lelouch put his arms around me and hugged me back.

"Shirley… I need to tell you something... I lo-" right then my dad pulled up late as usually. I had pull away from Lelouch and interrupt what he was going to say. It made me so mad that dad had to interrupt right now of all times!

"Sorry Lelouch. Dad's here. See you tomorrow." I walked towards dad.

"Bye Shirley…" he muttered and got on his skateboard and skated toward his house.

"Hi dad, how was your day." I asked as I got on the motorcycle.

"It was ok. When we get home, I need you to prepare for company. I have someone coming over for dinner.

"Oh ok. I can do that." I expected for it to be one of his employees or something so I didn't bother to ask who it was, because I probably wouldn't know them. I went home, cooked dinner, and dressed up for his company. He went to pick whoever it was up while I did all of this. Soon I heard him come into the house so I went down to see him. As I came out of my room I saw an attractive raven haired woman. I watched in horror as my dad put his arm around her when he saw me.

"Shirley this is Carol, one of my childhood friends and now my girlfriend."

**END OF CHAPTER**


	7. Anger

DW: Alright guys, I've decided to finish writing this story before I continue writing my other ones, so here's the next chapter. Enjoy!

_**Chapter 7: Anger**_

"Girlfriend?" I shouted at my dad. My father was secretly dating? He didn't even tell me! Does he even care that it's almost been a year since mom died? There were so many questions I wanted to ask him, but if I asked him now I would be in serious trouble.

"Yes Shirley. I've known Carol since we were little and she works with me now. Now come on, I promised her dinner. Did you even make it?" he asked coldly. I couldn't believe it… My dad was being so cruel to me now… I have never seen dad like this before… I guess this is what he's like around people he works with…

"Yeah dad, I made it. It's in the kitchen… I have some homework to do so I'll eat later…" I replied while walking towards my room. Usually dad would have made me eat with them, but I guess he was too busy paying attention his new girlfriend… When I walked into my room and faintly heard them laughing. That was just too much for me. What is wrong with him? What happened to my dad? I threw myself on my bed and began to cry my eyes out. The last time I cried this much was when mom died… Even after I stopped crying, I continued to ask questions in my head. Why? Why did mom have to die! Why? Everything would have been fine, but she's gone now… I ignored my homework and just stared at the ceiling as I drifted to sleep somehow…

* * *

The next day wasn't my day at all… I forgot my homework so now I had a horrible grade in Biology. Lelouch didn't talk to me all day. I didn't see him at all. Valentine's Day was just two days away and Gino and Kallen were flirting around with each other ignoring that I was even there. Suzaku and Euphemia were doing their own thing, and as usual, I was alone. Since they were all doing something with each other I was alone. I didn't have my friends, I didn't have a boyfriend, I didn't have my mom, and now I didn't even my dad now! Life was so unfair! I couldn't pay attention in any of my classes… Even in Art! It just wasn't fair… After school I sat down and waited for my dad to come alone… I hate being alone…

"What's wrong Shirley?" a voice behind my asked. I turned around to see Lelouch looking at me really concerned.

"Life is unfair…" I muttered through my teeth. My eyes started to fill with tears thinking about what happened last night

"Why?" then he saw that I was crying. "What happened Shirley?"

"I…" then I couldn't hold it any longer. I burst into sobs and was crying uncontrollably.

"Shh… It's ok Shirley, I'm here." He said as he scooped me into a hug and I remained there in his arms crying my eyes out. After a while, I was able to actually talk. So I told my story.

"Last night my dad came home with a new girlfriend…"

"Oh… Well, shouldn't that be a good thing?"

"No! He doesn't care about what happened to mom at all anymore. It's almost been a whole year since she died and he's already dating. And he didn't even tell me! He's been keeping secrets from and he was treating me like crap in front of her. Like I was some maid of something! I'm so mad at him…"

"It will be ok Shirley… Remember, you have me." He soothed and wiped away my tears. "Your dad might be here soon and I don't think you want him to see you like this right?"

"Yeah…" I calmed down and stopped crying. "Thanks Lelouch."

"You're welcome, you're my friend Shirley. Of course I'll help you. I think that's your dad coming down the road." Then I did something I never would have thought of ever doing.

"Thank you so much, Lelouch." Then I kissed him on the cheek. I turned around to get to dad. I looked back when I was on and saw him still standing there with a very shocked face. "Bye Lelouch!" I shouted to him and then we left, leaving a very happy and shocked Lelouch behind.

"I'm gonna go out with Carol tonight so if you're gonna go anywhere tell me now." Dad said to me. It was the weekend and dad was already making plans. I had no clue what I was going to do, but I didn't wanna be alone any more than I have to.

"I'll call Kallen." I replied. I picked up the phone and dialed Kallen's number. It rang two times, and then Kallen picked it up.

"Hello?"

"Hi Kallen."

"Oh hi Shirley, what's up?"

"Umm… what are you doing this weekend?"

"Nothing, why?"

"Can I spend the night?"

"Sure. You know where my house is right?"

"Yeah…"

"Ok… see you tonight then. I think I'll invite Euphy too."

"Ok bye…" I hung up and turned to dad. "I'm going to Kallen's house."

"Okay, I'm leaving in about 10 minutes so be ready by then." Then he left the room. I hurried to my room and got packed. It's been a long time since I've went to someone else's house. 10 minutes later, I was ready and got on the motorcycle behind dad. He drove to Kallen's house and dropped me off. Kallen was at the door waiting for me.

"Hey Shirley! Euphy's not here yet, but go ahead and put your stuff in my room. I'll give you a tour of the house until Euphy get's here." She shouted.

"Ok…" I replied and turned to dad. "Bye dad." He didn't reply, but went ahead and left. He doesn't care… about me… I felt like crying again, but thankfully Kallen was there to cheer me up.

"Come on, Shirley. We're gonna have fun tonight."

**END OF CHAPTER**


	8. Sleepover

_**Chapter 8: Sleepover**_

Kallen's house was, well… really big compared to ours. It was two stories and had a bunch of rooms. The living room was as big as our whole house. I stood there staring at it once we were inside. I didn't really look at it when I was outside since I was talking to my dad, but now that I really saw it, I was amazed.

"Something wrong?" Kallen asked.

"No…"

"Ok then, I'll show my house." So we went inside and I followed into the living room. "This is the living room." Then I followed her into a bunch of other rooms. Then we stepped into a huge bedroom. It had a huge king sized bed that had a canopy. Everything in this room was different shades of red. It had a walk in closet too. "This is my room. We'll be sleeping here tonight. Okay?"

"Ok…" I barely was able to talk. I was so amazed at everything she had. Most people would think that someone this rich would be really snobby, but she wasn't. Then the doorbell rang.

"Oh! That must be Euphy. Come on, Shirley." Kallen shouted excitedly.

"Okay…" I replied as I followed Kallen to the door. She opened it to find Euphy standing there with a duffel bag.

"Hi guys!" she cheerfully said. She quickly came inside and went into Kallen's room to drop off her bag. "So what are we gonna do tonight?"

"I don't know. What do you wanna do Shirley?"

"Uhh… it doesn't matter. Anything you wanna do…"

"Hmm… we can watch a movie and then just talk. I have a bunch to tell you two." Kallen informed. "But first, do you want some ice cream?"

"Green tea ice cream?" Euphy asked.

"Hmm… maybe. Come on, it's in the freezer." We followed her into the kitchen and she took three green ice cream sticks.

"What flavor is this?" I asked not knowing what green tea ice cream was like.

"Oh, you've never had green tea ice cream before? It's really good. At first it seems strange but it tastes really sweet." Euphy told me. So I started to eat it and it was really weird but then it tasted sweet…

"Mmm… this is really good!" I exclaimed.

"I thought so. It's the specialty in Japan. You can't find this anywhere else." We finished our ice creams and went back into Kallen's room to pick out a movie.

"So what do you wanna watch?" Kallen asked.

"It's up to you guys." I told her.

"Hmm… how about The Sound of Music?" Euphy suggested.

"I'm good with that. How about you Shirley?" Kallen asked.

"Sure… I haven't watched it yet, but I heard it's pretty good."

"You haven't watched this yet? You need to get out more and try some stuff out Shirley. Trust me, by the end of tonight you will know every song on there." Kallen joked. She put it in and turned out the lights as we all sat on her king-sized bed. I have to say, I really liked this movie. I'm not much of a singer, but I really enjoyed all the songs. Kallen and Euphy were singing every single song and eventually I was too. When I started singing, Kallen and Euphy looked at me in surprise.

"What?" I asked them.

"You sing really well. Why aren't you in choir like me and Euphy?" Kallen laughed.

"I don't like singing in front of people…" '

"Unless Lelouch would sing with her…" Euphy hinted. I started to blush…

"I like being in art better anyway…"

"But you sing if Lelouch would sing with you right?" I looked down and blushed even more.

"I guess…" They both laughed.

"Maybe someday we'll have a musical at our school and you and Lelouch could have the leads, and Lelouch might turn out to be a really great singer."

"Stop it; I'm trying to watch the movie." I tried to get out of this embarrassment.

"Okay, okay." And we started to watch the movie again. An hour and many laughs and songs later the movie was over. The clock in Kallen's room read 10 o'clock.'

"Now that the movie's over, let's talk." Kallen suggested while I yawned. I'm not used to staying up late.

"So what's been going on with you and Gino?" Euphy asked with her eyebrow raised.

"Recently, he started to hang out with me a lot and we'd talk about a lot of stuff. I don't know if he likes me though…" Kallen admitted.

"I don't know… he might… but I can't read guys minds so I don't know for sure." Euphy joked.

"What about Suzaku?"

"Well, he's started to get really protective of me whenever Luciano's around, but that's just the way he is."

"But he's that way to you especially." Kallen hinted. Euphy shrugged.

"What about you Shirley? What's been going on between you and Lelouch?" I was laying on Kallen's bed with my eyes closed, about to fall about but I jerked up and look at them when they said that. Then I remember that I kissed Lelouch and the cheek today and I started to blush, a lot.

"Umm… I don't know…"

"You're lying Shirley, you're blushing. What happened?"

"Umm… well, today before I left…" I trailed off hoping that they wouldn't ask me about it.

"Yes?" they both asked me at the same time.

"I kissed him on the cheek…" I looked away so I wouldn't be so embarrassed.

"Oh my gosh." They said in unison again.

"Go Shirley! What happened after that?" Kallen asked excitedly.

"I had to go, so I couldn't tell what he thought of it."

"So are you two going to go out?"

"I don't know…"

"I bet you two will, just you wait and see." Euphy said.

"Maybe… I'm tired so I'm going to bed now. Night…"

"Night Shirley." They replied in unison. I drifted off to sleep to both of them talking about Gino and Suzaku.

* * *

The next morning I woke up before Kallen and Euphy so I decided to wake them up.

"Good morning!" I shouted right above their ears. They both immediately shot up wide eyed towards me. I started to laugh really hard. "Good morning sunshine! It's such a beautiful day!" I continued.

"Ugh… Shirley… its 7 o'clock… why don't you just sleep in…" Kallen muttered.

"Yeah…" Euphy agreed.

"Come on, I did sleep in. I usually get up at 6."

"I don't care. Let us sleep in at least." Kallen said as she pulled her covers above her face. I decided to draw them while they were sleeping. It's a good thing I brought my sketchbook with me. I started to draw them and as soon as I was done they woke up again.

"I bet you're hungry eh?" Kallen asked.

"A little bit…" I actually was really hungry, but I tried not to show it.

"Come on, let's get some breakfast."

"Ok…"

**END OF CHAPTER**


	9. Neglected Flowers

_**Chapter 9: Neglected Flowers**_

"So what do you want for breakfast?" Kallen asked.

"Whatever you are having; you know that I don't eat very much, even when I starving." I replied laughing.

"Ok, cereal it is." Then she poured three bowls of cereal and we all ate. Of course I was finished first and I went to Kallen's room to make sure that I had everything ready. Kallen said that she would take me home, since dad didn't say anything about it.

"Are you ready to go?" she asked.

"Yeah…"

"Euphy's ready too, so get your stuff and I'll take you home." Kallen's mom drove us to my house. I had to give directions, but I really worried about what Kallen and Euphemia might say about my house. I know that they're really nice, but they're so rich as well. To my relief, that didn't seem to care at all about how I lived.

"Bye Shirley. See you at school Monday." Kallen shouted through her window as they pulled out of my driveway. I sighed and went into the house. Inside there, I saw dad in the kitchen.

"Hi dad, I'm back…" He just nodded to acknowledge I was there and ignored me. I walked to my room and went to my computer. There I found an e-mail from Nina.

_Hey Girl! _

_So Japan's a bunch of fun eh? Nothing much has been going on since you left, except that I'm going out with Rivalz right now. Have you met any cute guys? Tell all of your new friends I said hi._

_Nina_

Good ol' Nina. Hyper as always… I wasn't in the mood to write back so I turned my computer off again. The only thing I felt like doing was just to draw. I got my sketchbook out of my bag and looked at my drawing of Kallen and Euphy sleeping. It was one of my better pictures; I'm slowing becoming a good artist. I laughed as I started to look through the rest of my notebook, then I heard the phone ring.

"Shirley! Phone!" my dad shouted.

"Coming!" I shouted back and walked towards the kitchen. He handed me the phone and turned back to what he was doing.

"Hello?"

"Hey Shirley." I blushed as I realized it was Lelouch. I hurried back to my room and closed the door.

"Hi Lelouch…"

"Um… well, you know that Valentine's Day is Monday right?" Where was he going with this? Maybe…

"Yes I know that."

"Well I was thinking…"

"Yes?" My hopes were getting really high now. Was he going to ask me out?

"Well, what are we going to do with Gino and Kallen?" Oh… dang it. He just wanted to talk about Gino and Kallen.

"Are we going to my plan or yours?" I asked, trying to hide my disappointment.

"Hmm… I think yours might work better, so let's do yours." The rest of the night we talked about our plan and around ten o'clock I was getting tired.

"Hey Lelouch?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm getting tired…"

"Oh… ok… I'll let you get to sleep. Umm… good night…"

"Night Lelouch…" I muttered and immediately fell asleep as I hung up.

The next day was completely boring. I couldn't wait for Monday to come, but then again… I didn't want it to come at all… I can't believe that it will be a whole year since mom died… So many things have changed… For the worse… and for the better… I'm not so shy anymore and I've meet some great people… but dad became really cold and has seemed to forgotten mom… I wonder what she would think of that… It's so wrong that someone like my mom died… She was so perfect… I wondered around the house searching for something to do and I spotted some of mom's flowers outside, and they were wilted and neglected. I felt a wave of guilt come over me. Mom would have wanted me to take care of them… but I was saddened by the sight of them, that I neglected them. I went outside and bent down to fix what I could. It was the least I could do for mom's memory… There were weeds everywhere and I pulled them out till only the flowers remained. Some of the flowers we pulled out of the soil, so I planted them back in. Then I watered them just in case some of them were still alive and went back inside… I saw dad sitting at the table.

"Hey dad, what are we doing tomorrow?"

"Huh? Oh I'm spending the day with Carol."

"With Carol?" He was just going to forget all about mom?

"Yeah. I won't be home till late that evening after I drop you off after school so I expect you to take care of the house."

"Ok dad…" I walked slowly to my room once and laid on my bed. He didn't care anymore… What happened to my once loving dad...? He doesn't seem to care anymore about what happened to me… Why did this happen… Somehow I drifted off to sleep…

**END OF CHAPTER**


	10. Ending Part 1

DW: Well guys, only 3 chapters left to go. I know, sad isn't it? Here's the next chapter. Enjoy.

_**Chapter 10: Ending Part 1**_

Valentine's Day began as a beautiful sunny day. There wasn't a cloud in sight and the temperature was perfect even though it was still winter. I woke up on time like usual and prepared for school. I wore my school uniform and wore my orange hair down. This was the day… the day that mom died…

Flashback

"_Dad! What's happening?" I cried out to him as he came out of the hospital room that my mom was in._

"_Shirley, go talk to her. She wants to see you." My father replied. I nodded and slowly walked into the room. My mother was lying in the bed, pale as can be. I walked over to her and took her cold hand in mine. Her breathing was labored._

"_Shirley… I want you to know I love you always… I afraid that I may not last much longer… I'm sorry that I couldn't be with you more… that you will have to face your high school years alone… I'm so sorry Shirley… I hope that you make a lot of friends everywhere and that everyone will know what a wonderful girl you are… Please take care of my flowers and continued drawing… You're becoming a wonderful artist…" She said to me._

"_No mom… You're gonna make it… you're gonna stay with me and dad forever… Don't leave me mom…"_

And now she's gone…

I walked into our school and tried to find Lelouch or Kallen. I wanted to find Lelouch more, but right now I just needed to be with somebody. I found Lelouch waiting by my locker.

"Hi Lelouch." I said trying to put on a smile. He smiled back and looked around like he was looking for something.

"Ok, I think that Gino and Kallen aren't around. You ready?"

"Yeah…" It was something to get my mind off of mom, so I was more than willing to do it. It was actually pretty simple, but it was one of those things that are 'so simple, it just might work!' We went to their lockers and put a note and a gift in them and say it was from each other. It might give them the courage to actually say how they feel towards each other. We finished right before the warning bell rang and Lelouch and I hurried to class.

* * *

"What are you so happy about?" Euphemia asked during Biology. The teacher was already done with the lesson, so we had the rest of the time to talk.

"Oh nothing…" I replied a little too quickly. Euphy seemed to notice, but she didn't ask me about it anymore. Soon enough the bell rang and I went to computers to find Kallen. When I found her, she was blushing… bad.

"What's going on?" I asked her.

"Umm… well, Gino gave me something for Valentine's Day…"

"Did he really?" I really loved this. She didn't have a clue what Lelouch and I did.

"Yeah… maybe he likes me… What do you think?"

"Hmm… I don't know… why don't you ask him?"

"What?"

"Yeah… just ask him tell how you feel. Maybe he's just too scared to admit, and if you tell him, he might admit it…" I was really careful about how I said that. I could have given it away…

"Hmm… maybe you're right! I'll ask him about it later!" Yes! Mission complete!

"Of course I'm right! I'm always right!" we both laughed and before we knew it, computer's class ended and I trudged to History. At least Luciano hasn't bothered me at all. Class started and I noticed that Luciano was really quiet. I mean really really quiet… Something was wrong… Oh well, its Luciano's problem not mine. Art was fine as well. I was becoming a more talented artist by the day. Mom would be so proud if she was here…If only she was here… Mom…

"Come on Shirley! We have to get to lunch!" Kallen shouted at me as she was walking away. I realized that I was the only one left in the art room and Kallen was waiting for me.

"Hey, wait for me!" I shouted back and ran to catch up to her.

"Hey Kallen, when are you going to talk to Gino?" I whispered to her as we were eating. Everybody was there, but Gino seemed to avoid talking to Kallen.

"It doesn't look like he wants to talk to me… Maybe I was wrong…"

"No way. He might just be having a bad day. Promise me that you'll talk to him later okay?"

"Okay…" she mumbled and continued to eat her lunch. P.E. came too soon and we were all running our butts off again. The coach is completely heartless. I tried to pace myself after the fainting incident, but no… He just made me run more! Thankfully, I was becoming more and more used to it, so I haven't fainted again yet. When it was over, thank god, we went our separate ways once again. Gino was quiet again and Lelouch and I looked at each other knowing why he was quiet. However, this was something Gino had to do on his own. I noticed something on Lelouch's cheeks though. He was… blushing? Nah… it was just the heat from running… English came and went by quickly and Gino and I went to Algebra. Kallen looked at us sadly as we came in.

"What's wrong Kallen?" Gino asked while blushing. Kallen looked at him in the face and started blushing as well. She continued to look sad though.

"Suzaku and Luciano got into a fight. Suzaku got hurt really badly."

**END OF CHAPTER**


	11. Ending Part 2

DW: This is it guys, the last chapter of the story (though there is still a bonus chapter after this chapter). I would like to thank everyone who has reviewed this story. I hope you enjoyed reading this story as much as I enjoyed writing this story.

_**Chapter 11: Ending Part 2**_

"Do what!" I half screamed.

"He's not like hospital type hurt, but he's in the nurse's office with Euphy." Kairi replied calmly.

"How come she's in there?" I asked quietly.

"She was with them when it happened. I'll tell you what happened. After you guys left for English, Suzaku, Euphy and I headed to our classes. I had history last hour and Euphy and Suzaku had computers. Luciano was following us for some reason, but I didn't care. Euphemia's and Suzaku's classes were close to each other so they continued to walk together after I went into my class. After that, apparently, Luciano tried to move in on Euphy and Suzaku was tired of it and they got into a fight. Suzaku won, but Luciano got him pretty good. Luciano was sent home and now Suzaku and Euphemia are the nurse's office." She explained.

"Then what are we standing around here for? Let's go see him." I said. Somehow, the teacher actually let us skip class and we went to the nurse's office. Kallen and Gino accidentally bumped into each other and started to blush. I looked at Kallen with a look that said 'Now is your chance!' she nodded and was about to speak, but we've already reached the office. I opened the door and gasped in surprise. Suzaku and Euphemia were kissing.

"What is going on here!" I screamed. They broke apart really quickly and turned to us, finally noticing that we were they. They looked away blushing quite a bit.

"Hmm…" was all that Euphy could say. Then Suzaku finally spoke up.

"Me and Euphemia are going out now." he informed us. I turned to Kallen and Gino and they were both looking at the ground with red faces.

"Since when?" I asked.

"Since after the fight…Suzaku was trying to protect me and I… well… kissed him afterwards and then he asked me out." Euphemia admitted.

"Aww… that's so cute!" I exclaimed. I turned to look at Gino and Kallen once again, but they were gone. Before I could go looking for them, the bell rang and the school day was over. I got my stuff and went outside to wait for Lelouch. He wasn't out there, so I sat down on the steps while waiting. I'm so glad that Suzaku and Euphemia finally got together… I hope it goes as well for Gino and Kallen too… but what about me? I thought many times before that Lelouch maybe liked me, but every time I thought that he might ask me out, I end up being wrong… I don't know what to think…

"Hey Shirley." Lelouch said to me as he sat down beside me. I smiled at him when he looked at me.

"Hi Lelouch, where were you?"

"Oh, I was trying to find Gino, but I couldn't find him. I gave up and came out here."

"Oh ok." We continued to talk for about two hours, but my dad never came.

"Something's wrong…"

"Hmm?"

"It's been two hours and dad hasn't come yet… something has to be wrong…"

"How far away is your house?"

"About 3 miles…"

"Then I'll walk you home."

"Really?"

"Sure. Come on."

"Ok." and we walked towards my house. Most of the time, we just walked in silence, but occasionally we talked. Eventually as the sun was coming down, we came to my house. Lelouch walked with me up to my front step.

"Thanks Lelouch. I'm glad you were with me."

"No problem…" he started blushing like crazy and we looked at each other for a long time and my steps. He started coming closer and closer to my face, but then I heard something.

"What was that?" I asked as I moved away from him. He looked really disappointed, but soon changed to worry.

"Huh?"

"I think I hear someone crying…" It sounded like it was coming from my house. I opened the door and saw my dad. Something was wrong though… he actually was crying…

"Dad! Dad what's wrong!" I ran to him and looked at him in concern. He looked at me with tears still in his eyes. It was so heartbreaking to see my dad cry.

"It's… Carol… She broke up with me today… So she could be with someone else… None of this had to happen… If Jenny was here, everything would be perfect… Shirley… I'm sorry that I treated you like that… You remind me so much of her… I couldn't bear it… I want her back so badly… I'm so sorry Shirley…" he cried more. My dad was crying… It hurt me so much to see my dad like this… I had to get away from here… I had to run…

"Shirley where are you going?" Lelouch shouted as he chased after me. I ran into a park that was near my house and sat down on the swings trying to catch my breath… Soon enough, Lelouch caught up with me. I stared at the ground thinking… Lelouch went by me and sat down on the other swing.

"I'm sorry Shirley…" was all the he could mutter. I couldn't help myself, all this stress and sadness… was becoming too much… I started to cry…

"I want her back so much…" I said between sobs. Lelouch looked at me and got up. He stood in front and picked up with his arms.

"I'm so sorry Shirley…" he pulled me into a hug and I wrapped my arms around him.

"Everything would be ok if she was here… everything would be perfect… Dad would be so much happier and…" I couldn't hold on it anymore. I sobbed uncontrollably onto Lelouch and he held onto him tighter. I was afraid that he might leave if I didn't.

"But… you met me." He said. I looked up to him smiling at me. "Things may not be the same, but I'm still here. I'm always here…" He was right… no matter what; I would always have him, and my new friends, and dad… He needed me as much as I needed him… I can still live on… even though she's not there with me… I can still go on… because I'm not alone… I can hope again…

"Thank you Lelouch… I can… I'm finding hope again…" I muttered. He pulled me away from shoulder and caused to look in his eyes.

"No matter what… I will always be here and I want you to know that…" I nodded in thankfulness. "I need to tell you something else… I… I love you Shirley. I looked at him and was dead serious. I smiled back and laid my head on his shoulder once again.

"I know Lelouch… You'll always be there and I'll be ok even though mom's gone. I'll have your love instead… I... I love you too Lelouch…" I took my head of his shoulder and kissed him… Right then and there I was complete… I wasn't alone… I found hope again…

**THE END**

DW: I've did it, I've finished writing this story! Thank you everyone for reviewing and reading this story. BUT, don't go away because there's still one last bonus chapter. Stay tuned!


	12. Perfect Day

_**Bonus Chapter: Perfect Day**_

_What happened with Gino and Kallen on Valentine's Day_

_Kallen's POV_

Valentine's Day… I've been looking forward to this day for a long time. Well, ever since Gino has been hanging out with me a lot. I've liked him ever since we were kids and he's either not noticed or hasn't cared until recently. He tries to spend a lot of time with me nowadays and that's why I've been looking forward to this day. I thought that just maybe Gino likes me and might get me something for Valentine's Day. I really hope he does. That would be great if he liked me the way I like him. Gino is kinda dense sometimes, but that just adds to his charm.

Today was a bright and warm day even though it was the middle of winter. It felt so nice that I didn't even have to wear a jacket. Instead I wore my favorite outfit. I think Gino really likes this one, or maybe it was just a daydream. I don't know. I gathered all my stuff for school and headed out the door. I don't live that far from the school so I always walk there and back. Sometimes, Gino would go out of his way just to walk with me. I loved it when he did that; I just could never tell him that. I saw someone up ahead and for a second, I thought it was Gino coming to walk with me. As I got closer I realized that it wasn't him. Man, I got my hopes up again.

Arriving at school I headed straight to my locker and was a bit surprised to see Shirley standing by it. I was about to call out her name but she left before I could. Normally I'd have gone after her, but I figured that she probably had something to do. Shrugging it off I continued to walk towards my locker. Something was different though. When I looked in my locker there was a letter and a rose. A letter and a rose! Was it really for me? Nah…, someone probably just got the wrong locker. I didn't think that the letter was actually for me but curiosity was getting the best of me and I opened it anyway.

_Dear Kallen,_

_Happy Valentine's Day! I hope that you're having a good day so far. This rose is just for you! Talk to you later!_

_Love, Gino_

The rose…, it's really for me! That's so sweet of Gino! I can't believe that he actually got me something! I mean, I had hoped he would but I didn't think it would actually happen. So maybe he does like me, after all he did say 'Love Gino' at the end! I really need to talk to Shirley about this. I smiled happily, this is gonna be a great day!

* * *

_Gino's POV_

Crap, it's already Valentine's Day and I didn't get Kallen anything! I thought I still had plenty of time. What am I gonna do? I really wanted to get her something to show her how I feel about her, but I can't do it! I've even asked Lelouch about it, but his advice isn't very good. He's been too busy with Shirley anyway. He claims that nothing's going on. Yeah right, he's so in love with her. I can tell these things because I'm so smart like that! However, if I'm so smart why didn't I get Kallen anything? Not a good idea being that I'm her boyfriend. Wait, what am I saying I'm not her boyfriend. Great, now I feel even worse. Oh well, hopefully today won't be too bad. I open my locker and stare at the jam packed mass of junk, old papers, last weeks lunch, and gum stuck to the side. However today there was something different. What's this, a letter? Someone actually wrote me a letter? My curiosity piqued, I open it and read what it says.

_Dear Gino,_

_Happy Valentine's Day! Man, your locker is messy. Why don't you ever clean it? Anyway, the keychain necklace is for you._

_Love Kallen_

Wait, 'Love Kallen' Does this mean she likes me? No, it means she loves me! Yay! This is the best Valentine's Day ever! I'm gonna put the necklace on right now. It's actually a cool looking necklace, she has good tastes. I can't wait to talk to Kallen! Wait, I didn't get her anything. Dang it, why didn't I get her anything! Oh man she's gonna hate me now! Crap, what am I gonna do? I know I'll ask Lelouch! The warning bell has already rang, but I catch Lelouch right before he goes into his first hour class.

"Lelouch, Kallen got me a Valentine's gift but I didn't get her anything! What should I do?" I asked half hoping that he had some kind of an idea.

"Well, if you didn't get her anything then you could just give her something that doesn't cost anything." He replied simply.

At first I was confused about what he was talking about. I didn't have a clue and Lelouch sighed in resignation.

"Tell her how you feel, or better yet just kiss her." He said plainly.

"What!" I screamed, causing a lot of the students turned around to see who screamed. When they saw it was me they just continued on their way. I guess I'm kinda known for doing dumb things. Wait what if Kallen doesn't like that!

"Oh man." Lelouch sighed again and went into his class.

The tardy bell rang as I ran towards my class.

* * *

_Kallen's POV_

My classes seemed to take forever. Part of me wanted to see Gino, but part also didn't. Thoughts bounced around in my mind. What if he was just trying to be nice to me? What if he doesn't like me at all? Thankfully 1st hour was over and that meant I could talk to Shirley about it. While I waited for her I thought about his gift. A single rose just for me. If I saw him, I could give him a kiss as a thank you gift. What am I saying, me kiss Gino! My face started to get really hot just thinking about it. It was just about then when Shirley finally came in.

"What's going on?" she asked curiously, almost as if she knew what was on my mind.

"Well, Gino gave me something for Valentine's Day." I said happily. Shirley started smiling while raising an eyebrow.

"Did he really?" she replied back in a seemingly innocent voice.

"Yeah, he sure did." I decided to go ahead and tell her my suspicions. "Maybe he likes me, what do you think?"

"Why don't you just ask him?" she asked innocently.

"What!" I half screamed. I instantly thought about how that situation could go, and what all might happen. I looked at Shirley again and she continued talking.

"Yeah, just tell him how you feel. Maybe he's just too scared to admit it. If you tell him he it might just be what he needs to admit it." She replied slowly, carefully choosing each word as she spoke. Somehow her words made perfect sense to me.

"Hmm…, maybe you're right! I'll ask him about it later!" I replied cheerfully. Maybe things will work out well, just maybe.

* * *

_Gino's POV_

Today has really been a bad day so far. I've been late for almost every single class, and I still haven't figured out what I'm gonna do about Kallen. I could take Lelouch's advice, but that could turn out badly. I've got to figure something out soon, I have too. Lunch hour was rapidly approaching and I would see her then. That's when I should talk to her. Yeah, that's it that's what I'll do, I'll talk to her! Lelouch and I always met after 4th hour so we can walk to the cafeteria together.

"I'm gonna talk to her." I said in a semi confident voice. "Well, I'm gonna try to talk to her." I add softly. Lelouch looked really pleased with the idea though.

"Good, it's the best thing for you to do. Just don't mention the gift." He whispered carefully.

I looked at him curiously since I was still quite confused. "Pretend like you just wanna talk to her because she's special to you. If you mention the gift then it may make it seem less than special to her." He said matter-of-factly.

"How is it that you know all this stuff!" I asked with piqued interest.

"I just know, come on, and remember to think about what you're gonna say to her." He said and went into the cafeteria. I gulped and followed him inside.

* * *

_Kallen's POV_

"Come on Shirley, we have to get to lunch!" I shouted to her. She was still in the Art room, and the bell had already rung. She looked around and eventually saw me. I was getting impatient and went ahead and left.

"Hey, wait for me!" she shouted as she followed me out the door.

As we neared the cafeteria I was quickly becoming somewhat of a nervous wreck. What in the world am I gonna say to him? When we walked in I saw him looking at me. I quickly turned away blushing. I got my food and sat down. I sat next to Gino, thinking that it will be easier to talk to him if I ever got the courage. Unfortunately he just ignored me. I guess that he didn't want to talk to me after all. I guess he really didn't mean anything special with that rose.

"Hey Kallen, aren't you going to talk to Gino?" Shirley asked me quietly.

"It doesn't look like he wants to talk to me, maybe I was wrong…" I muttered softly.

"No way, he might be just having a bad day. Promise me you'll talk to him later okay?" Shirley said firmly.

"Okay." I reply quietly. Once again the bell rang and I headed to P.E. The whole way there I was wondering what I might say to Gino, that's if I actually did get to talk to him.

* * *

_Gino's POV_

"Gino, what's wrong with you? Why didn't you talk to Kallen?" Lelouch asked, obviously angry with me as we walked to P.E. I sighed in resignation.

"I just couldn't, she was so close to me and I felt so guilty for not getting her anything. Now I feel even guilty because I ignored her. She probably hates me now." I muttered sadly. Lelouch shook his head as we continued walking. He seemed to be really deep thought. Right before we walked into the gym he stopped and turned to face me.

"You have to talk to her. If you don't now then you never will. This is for your own good so listen to my advice." He said while holding his fist up to my face to show that he was being serious.

I gulped and nodded in response. I didn't see her before P.E. started so I didn't talk to her then. I finally saw her while we were running and man did she look hot, in more ways than one! My emotions were starting to get the best of me. Finally P.E. was over and I walked to English with Lelouch and Shirley. They kept on looking at each other and I noticed that Lelouch was blushing every time he looked at Shirley. It's just like I do when I see Kallen. By this point I really didn't feel like talking at all, which sounds strange coming from me. Usually people can't get me to shut up, but today was different. I had a real problem today and I needed time to think things through. English class went by really quickly and before I knew it, it was time for Algebra, my last class with Kallen. I have to talk to her now; this would be my last chance. I put a smile on my face and walked up to Kallen. Instantly I noticed that she looked really sad. I have to cheer her up. Ok, it's time to talk to her.

"What's wrong Kallen?" I asked while feeling the temperature rise in my cheeks. She looks at me in square in the face and I think I actually saw her blushing. Does that mean she likes me? I could have really been happy right then, however she still looked so sad.

"Suzaku and Luciano got into a fight and Suzaku got hurt really badly." She replied sadly.

I looked at her in disbelief. I know that Suzaku would be the type to get into a fight, but I never thought that he could actually get hurt.

"Do what?" Shirley half screamed in surprise and Kallen motioned to her to be a little quieter.

"He's not like in the hospital type hurt. He's just in the nurse's office with Euphy." She quietly explained.

"How come she's there with him?" Shirley asked.

"She was with them when it happened. I'll tell you what happened. After you guys left for English, Suzaku, Euphy and I headed to our classes. I had history last hour and Euphy and Suzaku had computers. Luciano was following us for some reason, but I didn't care. Euphemia's and Suzaku's classes were close to each other so they continued to walk together after I went into my class. After that, apparently, Luciano tried to move in on Euphy and Suzaku was tired of it and they got into a fight. Suzaku won, but Luciano got him pretty good. Luciano was sent home and now Suzaku and Euphemia are the nurse's office." She explained.

"Then why are we standing around here for? Let's go see him." Shirley exclaimed.

* * *

_Kallen's POV_

I was really surprised when the teacher let us go. I guess she was just having a very good day. While walking down there Gino accidentally bumped into me, almost causing me fell. I didn't though, because he grabbed my wrist and pulled me back up. I was so close to his face and I started blushing like crazy. I saw that Gino was blushing as well. I looked at Shirley and she gave me a look that apparently meant, 'Now's your chance.' I nodded and was about to speak when I noticed that I was reluctantly moved away from the spot. Shirley opened the door and I heard her gasp in shock. There on the nurse's bed were Suzaku and Euphemia kissing!

"What's going on here?" she screamed. They quickly separated and turned to us, finally noticing that we were there. They looked away blushing furiously.

"Umm..." was all that Euphy could say. Suzaku finally spoke up.

"Euphy and I are going out now." he informed us.

Shirley turned to Gino and I and looked at us curiously. I looked away blushing badly. I quickly realized why she looked at me that way. I saw Gino looking away as well.

"Since when?" I heard Shirley ask.

"Since the fight with Luciano, Suzaku was trying to protect me and I, well…, kissed him. Afterwards he asked me out." Euphy admitted.

It was so cute. Why couldn't anything like that happen to me? I didn't wanna hear anymore and left the room.

"Kallen wait!" Suzaku shouted from behind me.

"What?" I asked as he walked up to me. Somehow he tripped and when he got up he was right by my face. We started move closer together and I closed my eyes in anticipation. It was right then the bell rang and we instantly moved apart from surprise of hearing it. I started blushing like crazy and walked away. I walked outside and sat down on the brick ledge near the school. For some reason I didn't feel like leaving just yet. Some part of me just knew that if I waited here, something good might happen. Today hadn't turned out to be the day I thought it would be at all. Once again, I was disappointed. I pulled my legs up and began to softly cry. I tried not to let anybody see me. To my dismay I hear someone walking up to me. I tried to hide my face but whoever it was put there hand under my chin and forced me to look up. I gasped in surprise. It was Gino.

"What are you doing here Gino?" I asked curiously. I tried really hard to stop crying and act like nothing had happened, but I'm not very good at concealing my feelings. My face started to heat up when I realized how close Gino was to me. His face was mere inches from mine and his hand moved from under my chin to my cheek. He carefully wiped away all of my tears with his thumb.

"I had to find you. I need to talk to you." He replied. His face looked away from mine, staring at the ground.

"What it is?" I asked. He looked back at me and sighed softly.

"I love you Kallen." He replied sweetly.

"What did you say?" I asked in disbelief. He loved me! Did he really say that?

"I love you, and I always have. I've just been too afraid to tell you. I…" he didn't get to finish his sentence because I kissed him. He immediately began to return the kiss. After a while we pulled apart and I laid my head on his shoulder while he held me. "I'm sorry that I didn't get you anything today." he whispered in my ear.

"Yes you did, you gave me a rose, remember?" I replied.

"Huh?"

"I fell so badly for not getting you anything." I replied feeling very guilty.

"But you did, you gave me that… Oh, I get it." He said.

I looked at him very confused. I didn't have a clue what he was talking about.

"Lelouch and Shirley did this. They planted a gift and a letter to each of us, hoping that we confess to each other. I can't believe that they would do that, but it worked." he laughed.

"Yeah, remind me to thank them later." I replied, leaning forward to kiss him again. I was so happy! Today had turned out just the way I wanted it to. It was getting dark and Gino walked me home, the whole way his arm was around my waist and I had my head on his shoulder. Today was perfect.

**THE END**


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